Main Differences Between Residential and Commercial Construction

January 24, 2020

We can look at the construction industry as an entity of it own that is created with different aspects that provide us with the essential service for either business or individual usage. Some simply lump everything that is connected with the projects of construction and therefore they make no difference between residential and commercial construction that are serving in this big business, although, in reality, we can see clear differences from particular segments when everything is taken into consideration.

Assuming that construction industry is being looked like a “One Size Fits All” concept could lead to potential rude awakening, when all the key variations are noted, so to avoid it, we have prepared some of the crucial differences in which you can easily differentiate residential from commercial construction:

Uses

Starting with the usage, definition of residential construction is reasonably simple, with a lot of people already having the understanding that residential means a construction of an apartment, home or some other personal structure.

While on the contrary, commercial construction is being performed for the business that might be in need of office buildings or industrial bureaus. Also, the commercial constructor must think ahead and plan the building they construct for many different types business that will be run inside the same structure that they make.

Construction Permits

Any type of construction means following the appropriate laws and getting the required permission from that particular district where a building is going to be built. The main difference when it gets to commercial and residential construction is that you will need additional permits in order to proceed with the commercial construction.

Any type of construction means following the appropriate laws and getting the required permission from that particular district where a building is going to be built. The main difference when it gets to commercial and residential construction is that you will need additional permits in order to proceed with the commercial construction. The reason why you would need more permits is simply because of the many various aspects of a building's design.

They also include safety protocols that have to be strictly followed, elevator certifications, IT and electrical concerns and, of course, a plan for developing the parking lots or garages for the employees. All in all, the level of complexity when you are dealing with commercial permits is much higher than the one when you are doing residential construction.

Construction Materials

When it gets to the materials, residential construction mostly relies on wood, while the commercial construction tends to go with the steel frames. There is a very simple reason and the difference in these two selections and that is the cost of the material, most of the homeowners will generally go for the wooden material because steel is simply more expensive.

On the other hand, commercial construction companies must secure a safe relationship with their suppliers in order to ensure that the constant work will be performed without any delays, and any type of the breakdown with their supplier in this type of business can simply create unwanted headaches that are followed with the search for another partner (supplier).

Work Pace

The main part of this business is to complete every project as fast as possible. But the key difference is that business construction companies are working at a much faster pace than the residential companies, which means that the expectations of the project completion are much higher in the field of business constructions.

The reason why the expectation level is much higher in business construction is mostly because of a larger investment. Professional construction companies will always establish realistic deadlines and won't try to take the shortcuts and risk to lose on the quality of their work, but still, they will manage to complete their projects as quickly as possible.